“Emergency Was a Dark Chapter”: Shashi Tharoor Slams 1975 Crackdown, Warns of Modern-Day Parallels

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has publicly and sharply criticized the 1975 Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, calling it a period when “dissent was ruthlessly suppressed” and warning that its lessons remain deeply relevant for India’s democracy today.

Writing on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, Tharoor described it as a time when fundamental rights were suspended, press freedom was crushed, and political opponents were jailed, drawing chilling parallels to democratic backsliding worldwide.

“India Held Its Breath”

Tharoor recalled how on June 25, 1975, the country awoke to fear, not freedom. In his words:

“The world’s largest democracy held its breath... The judiciary buckled, journalists were jailed, and the habeas corpus itself was suspended.”

Despite being a Congress MP, Tharoor was unsparing in his criticism of the party's past, especially the excesses under Sanjay Gandhi, such as forced sterilizations and slum demolitions, which he called examples of unchecked state brutality under the guise of discipline and national progress.

“A Dictatorship Disguised as Order”

Tharoor wrote that while the Emergency might have briefly brought a sense of order, it came at the cost of India’s democratic soul:

“The system that delivered this ‘order’ was no less than a dictatorship.”

He emphasized that the judiciary initially caved to political pressure, media was muzzled, and civil liberties were turned into state-controlled privileges.

Modern Lessons from a Dark Past

Calling on readers not to view the Emergency as just history, Tharoor said its lessons are timeless:

Freedom of press is essential for holding power to account.

Judicial independence is a democracy’s last line of defense.

Majoritarian arrogance can be as dangerous as outright authoritarianism.

He warned against centralization of power, erosion of democratic institutions, and the tendency of governments—past or present—to equate dissent with disloyalty.

“Today’s India Is Not 1975… But Be Vigilant”

Tharoor acknowledged that India today is “more confident and more democratic” than in 1975, but stressed:

“The threats to democracy can reappear in new forms—cloaked in the language of stability, order, or national interest.”

He concluded with a global appeal:

“Democracy is not guaranteed. It is a precious asset. All of us—India and the world—must protect it from the first signs of authoritarianism.”